According to Jamie Dehler and Tribstar.com, family names in the Netherlands gradually became more fixed in the period from the 16th century until it was legislated in 1811. The basis for the surname chosen varied from person to person.
In Holland there are a total of 12 provinces, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, Limburg, Utrecht, Flevoland, Freisland, Groningen, Gelderland, Drenthe and Overijssel, all of which have family names that can be traced to them as a result of their linguistic form. The individual’s basis for choosing a surname varied. Some chose surnames that were descriptive of them as a person or purely in terms of appearance.
- de Jong (the youngster)
- de Witt (the white one)
- de Lange (the tall one)
- de Wees (the orphan)
- Coons (bold)
- Vedder/Veeder (father, the one who feeds)
- op den Graf (big man)
- Haas (hare, nickname for someone who is fast)
The suffix -aert was added to the surname to allude to “one who is”, as in Grootaert (one who is big). The -aert suffix was particularly common in the Zeeland region.
The Dutch people also took surnames after the profession they practiced. Examples of this are:
- are Timmerman (carpenter)
- Fisherman (fisherman)
- Baker (baker)
- Kuiper (barrel maker)
- Knickerbacker (biscuit maker)
- Smet (blacksmith)
- Farmer (farmer)
- Weidman (shepherd)
- Bleecker (linen bleacher)
Patronymic as in Norway
Others chose a patronymic icon such as Willemsen (son of William), a name that then became standard for all descendants. How such family names ended varied from region to region. Examples range from the -s ending to the -sen ending. What they all have in common, however, is their meaning of “son of”. A special case can be found in the region of Zeeland, where there are examples of surnames that ended in -se, but still meant “son of” (as in Abrahamse).
Read also: Choosing a surname
Clan names also occur in the Netherlands with different endings. These suffixes can also help us to pinpoint the regional origin of the name. The endings had meanings such as (belongs to the family …). This includes endings such as -ena, -egna, -inga, -ing, -ink and -ma. In the regions of Gelderland and Overijssel.
Many took the name of the farm they worked at, which could give them “illegally” almost the same name as a clan, just because a member of the clan had originally built the farm.
But not all farms were named after their founders. Instead, they could be named after their geographical location.
Name based on area
Those who didn’t choose the aforementioned ways of acquiring a family name could also choose surnames according to local places or areas. Examples of this are:
- van Winkle (from the corner)
- van Dyck (from the ditch, dam)
- van Bruggen (from a place with a bridge)
- Vandenberg/Vanderberg (from the mountain)
- van Rijn (from the Rhine)
- Schuyler (a place with shelter)
- Tenbrook (from the stream)
- Van Zandt (from the sand)
- Vandenhoff (from the courtyard)
- Putnam (a house by a well)
- Buskirk (a church in the forest)
- Kirkendall/Kuykendall (a church in a valley)
- van Patten (from the town of Putten)
- Vandermeer/Vermeer (from the river)
- de Vries (from Freisland)
Middle words in family names
Many of the aforementioned Dutch names have small words in them that are placed between the person’s first and last name. Examples are:
- for (for)
- up (on)
- ten (ved)
- van (av)
In addition to the aforementioned, we also find de, den and der (definite article ala “the” in English). These small words are usually not capitalized if they are separate from the “main family name” and are not used in alphabetization.
